Introduction to R, Quarto, and GitHub

STA6235: Modeling in Regression

Introduction

Lecture weeks:
- Lecture Tuesday
- Lecture Thursday
- Activity due the following Monday
Project weeks:
- Short meeting on Tuesday to introduce project
- No meeting on Thursday, but I will be available to answer questions (like office hours)
- Project due the following Monday
Keep in mind that this is an applied class.
- Some theory will be covered for informational purposes.
- You will focus on the application of the distributions covered.

We will be using R in this course.
- I use the RStudio IDE, however, if you would like to use another IDE, that is fine.
It is okay if you have not used R before!
Full disclosure: I am a biostatistician first, programmer second.
- This means that I focus on the application of statistical methods and not on “understanding” the innerworkings of R.
  - R is a tool that we use, like how SAS, JMP, Stata, SPSS, Excel, etc. are tools.
- Sometimes my code is not elegant/efficient, and that’s okay! Because our focus is on the application of methods, we are interested in the code working.
- I have learned so much from my students since implementing R in the classroom.
  - Do not be afraid to teach me new things!

You can install R and RStudio on your computer for free.
- R from CRAN
- RStudio from Posit
Alternative to installing: RStudio Server hosted by UWF HMCSE
Do not use Citrix.
I encourage you to install R on your own machine if you are able.
- In the “real world,” you will not have access to the server.
- Installing on your own machine will help your future self troubleshoot issues.

I will be inviting you to join the STA6235-Fa23 organization.
- Please submit your GitHub username to the Google form if you have not already.
It is okay if you have not used GitHub before!
Full disclosure: this is my first semester using a GitHub Organization, so there may be some bumps in the road.
- Always keep in mind that if there is some sort of issue that is on my side of things, I will make it right and it will not affect your grade.
Why are we using GitHub?
- I am trying to prepare you for the real world, where you may need to use GitHub.
- It is easy for me to push materials to students directly, rather than going through Canvas.
- When you save your progress and push back to your private repository in the organization, I can see your work and can help with troubleshooting.